In modern dental practice, different types of illumination and photocuring functions are required and, at present, these, in general, are supplied respectively by individual different lamps packaged as separate light sources, thus requiring a number of individual pieces of equipment for use in a dental operatory. Also, at present, high rents necessitate maintaining operatory rooms in relatively small economical sizes, whereby the smaller, simpler, and less space-consuming equipment is, the better it can be accommodated comfortably in present day operatories. The present invention is directed to such minimizing of required illumination equipment as well as rendering the same more efficient and of improved quality.
For many years, it has been customary for dentists to select operatories facing north wherever possible in order to obtain natural daylight as close as possible to pure white light, i.e., the absence of color hue. Such efforts are frustrated on cloudy or rainy days and the time of the year, however, whereby one has to resort to using artificial light from lamp sources upon which attempts have been made to modify the same to at least approach pure white light at an acceptable color temperature such as 5500.degree. K., for example.
Dentistry presently requires illumination of as nearly as possible pure white light to be directed at dental targets for viewing the same such as the interior of an oral cavity; similar somewhat intensified white light illumination suitable for shade matching of artificial teeth with natural teeth; photocure light power of a type to effect curing of light-curable resins or plastics used for dental restorations of various kinds and similar purposes; and illumination of dental targets of a type which permits viewing the same without effecting premature polymerization of visible light-curable resins or plastics, such as those used for dental restorations of various kinds and especially while forming and shaping fillings and similar restorations of plastic material prior to curing the same. As indicated above, lights or lamps to produce standard illumination now are available only as an individual units. As far as is known, a no-cure type of illumination is not available to date.
In the prior art of lighting and illumination in general, attempts have been made to utilize a single light source to produce, for example, different colors for entertainment and stage use. Typical examples of this type of illumination are illustrated in prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,606,477 to Leslie et al, dated Aug. 12, 1952 and 3,179,791 to Mole, dated Apr. 20, 1965. As a slight modification of the principles illustrated in the foregoing patents, prior U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,536 to Roth et al, dated Jan. 11, 1955 discloses a headlamp arrangement on certain vehicles for signaling purposes and in which the light source remains fixed and movable lenses cause the projections of a spiral pattern of beams.
There also has been prior activity in reflecting beams from a light source in a manner to intensify beams therefrom by reflection to and from curved reflectors for ultimate direction through an output window or lens, one example being the subject matter of prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,811 to Hall, Jr., dated Aug. 24, 1965.
Unlike the operation and construction of these cited prior art patents, the present invention utilizes a single lamp as a light source and by means of a series of light modifying optical filters and related elements, coupled with variable control of voltage to the filament of the light source, at least most if not all of the various types of dental applications for illumination and photocuring set forth above can be produced by relatively simple structures of a compact nature, details of which are set forth below.
The present invention is the result of expanding and increasing the versatility and convenience of the inventions in applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,385,344, dated May 24, 1983, and his pending U.S. application Ser. No. 492,286, filed May 6, 1983.